Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

—Plop! Plop-plop!

As planned, Cho dropped the two into the large water tank I had once prepared for Hwayang. The tank’s former resident, a regular wae-wae-eo giant salamander, had already been released back into the lake.

And there was a reason for that.

There was only one of these large tanks available. And when given the choice between a normal giant salamander and an Electric Giant Salamander, the choice was obvious.

Sure, giant salamanders were rare in my old world— But here in the Sect Grounds, they were so common you could eat them if you wanted. I could always find another regular one.

But these—these were SSS-tier electric salamanders, even if not quite EX-rank.

The capture difficulty alone is in another league.

So, when Cho tossed the two Ho-ye into the now-empty tank, the Electro Giant Salamanders immediately poked their heads out of the water and started screaming.

They’d just been kidnapped by a terrifying spirit beast, after all. Anyone would be terrified and confused. And on top of that, they were now surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar, intimidating creatures.

—WAEAAAAH!

—WAEAAK!

I walked over with a smile, trying to calm them down.

“It’s okay, relax. No one’s going to hurt you.”

—WAEAAAAH!

—WAEK!

But they didn’t stop screaming.

Their cries were ear-splitting, and Sister Seol clutched her ears.

“Ugh! They’re insanely loud! My ears are about to fall off!”

“They’re just scared, that’s all. They’ll calm down once—”

—WAEAAAAK!

I tried a few more times to speak gently, but every time I opened my mouth, they screamed even louder. Eventually, the spirit beasts in the room had had enough.

As if to say, “What kind of rookie makes this much noise instead of just greeting everyone properly?”

they slowly surrounded the tank.

—Zzzrrrp.

—Ksssht...

—Kkukkkuk!

—Pyooii!

Cho, Bini, Hyang, Yohwa and Seol sitting on her shoulder, Bing, Moong, Yeondu, Hongdan—and even little Hwayang, up on tiptoes, peeking into the tank with a frown.

All of them were staring at the newcomers like they were totally unimpressed. The Ho-ye immediately shrank back, trembling as they pressed into the corner of the tank.

—Wae...

—Wae, wae...

—Zzzrrrp.

Occasional cries still came from them, but every time they tried to squeak, Cho would emit a little hissing rasp, like a human going “Shhh.”

And just like that, the two entangled salamanders peeked their heads up out of the water, trembling as they stared nervously at everyone around them.

“Phew... finally quiet. Now... where’s the shaman grandmother?”

As things finally calmed down, I looked around. She was still at the entrance of the cabin, watching the Ho-ye with a deeply worried expression—as if afraid they might’ve been hurt or traumatized.

“Don’t worry, Grandmother. Cho was careful. They’re not hurt. Come here. They’re waiting for a proper farewell.”

“O-Okay, So-ryong.”

I brought her forward to say goodbye.

She had devoted her whole life to these spirits of the lake—

She deserved the chance to see them off.

I had already promised that the Black-Clad Tribe would always be welcome at the Tang Clan if they wished to visit Ho-ye. Still, this was farewell. She needed closure.

Standing before the tank, she didn’t speak at first—only stared deeply into the eyes of the salamanders.

Finally, her lips parted.

“I’m sorry... This was the only way. We can no longer protect you with our hands. Please, follow young master So-ryong and find happiness. Let the Poison Garden—the paradise for spirit beasts—be your new home, your safe haven.”

Strangely enough, the two Ho-ye, who’d been terrified just moments ago, now looked much calmer.

Maybe it was because they recognized her—they didn’t seem nearly as scared as they were before.

With teary eyes, the grandmother continued:

“And if the day comes—someday, if time passes and spirit beasts and humans can live together in harmony again... then please, come back to the lake. Protect our Black-Clad Tribe once more.”

She slowly reached toward the tank.

“No—Grandmother! The lightning!”

Sister Seol panicked and shouted, but I held up my hand to stop her.

Because in that moment—I saw something I’d once seen in a documentary.

One of those rare, beautiful moments between a lifelong wildlife researcher and their subjects—

A chimpanzee, a lion, a gorilla—those moments when the animals truly accepted the human as one of their own.

The moment when observer and observed became part of the same world.

This... was that moment.

They’d been captured by Cho, yes—But when the grandmother finished speaking, the trembling in the two Ho-ye faded.

One of them slowly swam forward. It lifted its head, looked her in the eyes—and gently licked her outstretched hand.

As if to say, I understand. Don’t worry. I’ll come back someday.

The grandmother lowered her head, tears falling to the floor.

“Th-Thank you... sniff...”

It was like watching a live nature documentary. Touching, beautiful, unforgettable.

***

We spent one more day calming the Ho-ye. Then, the following morning, as our ship left the harbor—

Across the way, from a military ship setting sail, came the sound of shouting soldiers.

“Any creature that harms a human must be caught and killed! Understood!?”

“YES, SIR!”

Archers lined both decks. The commander stood sternly at the bow. They looked fully prepared to kill something on the spot.

I leaned against the cabin window and pointed outside, speaking to the two Ho-ye.

“See that? That’s why we had no choice but to take you away. You understand now, right?”

—Wae!

—WAE!

Whether they actually understood or not, I couldn’t tell—but they gave some kind of reply.

Given that they seemed to understand at least some of the other creatures, I figured they could follow my words to a certain extent.

But they still showed no fear of me. No real reaction, just blank stares.

What I needed... was contact. Some skinship.

But with these guys? That wasn’t going to be easy.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I sighed, watching them float around, and turned to go see Hwa-eun. If I was going to raise them, I needed to talk to her.

Knock knock.

Not the cabin where I stayed with the spirit beasts—but the rearmost room of the ship, right next to Sister Seol’s.

I knocked gently.

“Hwa-eun? Are you in there?”

A kind voice answered immediately from inside.

“Yes, So-ryong. What’s the matter?”

“I wanted to talk to you. Just the two of us. May I come in?”

There was a brief pause inside. Some frantic rustling.

Then came her slightly flustered voice—

“P-Please come in.”

When I opened the door and stepped inside, I was greeted by a faint floral scent—it must’ve been because it was Hwa-eun’s room.

She was standing in front of the bed to welcome me. Her lips were unusually red... looked like she was wearing the lipstick I’d made for her.

Red really does suit her. Like a rose, I thought, when her voice brought me back.

“W-What’s going on?”

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her ears tinged pink. I glanced at the window, wondering if the room was hot, but no—it was open.

No way I could stand around and talk awkwardly, so I stepped closer and said,

“Shall we sit and talk?”

“W-What? Oh—yes, please, sit here!”

As I sat on the edge of the bed, she sat beside me almost instantly. And as she fanned herself lightly at the nape of her neck, clearly warm, I got to the point.

“The reason I came to see you is... well, there’s something we need to discuss in private.”

“P-Private?”

The word made her visibly tense up for a moment, then she lowered her head as if steeling herself for something.

“P-Please go on, So-ryong. I’m ready to listen.”

And she certainly looked like she was—so I nodded and continued.

“It’s about the Ho-ye we brought in.”

Hwa-eun tilted her head slightly, looking confused.

“The Ho-ye?”

“Yes, the Ho-ye.”

“You came to talk about them?”

“Yes.”

“...Sigh.”

She looked down at the floor and let out a long breath. Maybe it was just me, but I swear I caught a slight cold edge in her voice when she said,

“Alright... go on.”

“So, the Ho-ye... they emit lightning qi, right?”

“They do.”

“Well, other kids—like Cho or Bini—have poisons that can be countered with antidotes, and they don’t randomly shoot toxins at people, so they’re relatively safe to raise. But with Ho-ye, we’ll need to be much more careful. And that’s why there’s something I have to learn.”

“Learn?”

Her expression immediately shifted into curiosity—Hwa-eun had an intense thirst for knowledge. The moment I said I needed to learn something, she perked up.

“What do you need to learn?”

“Well, when lightning qi hits a person, it can cause paralysis, like what happened with the fish. But if it hits a person’s heart directly, it can stop completely. They could literally just drop dead on the spot.”

“Is that true? But last time you were fine?”

“Last time, I was lucky—or maybe the lightning passed through Cho first and lost some strength. But Ho-ye can emit lightning directly into people, so it’s dangerous.”

“Then... should we make a suit out of Yohwa’s silk to protect ourselves?”

She was quick to suggest a practical solution, as always. But that wasn’t going to work.

Yohwa’s silk—like all spider silk—was ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) an excellent conductor for static electricity. In fact, some spiders evolved specifically to manipulate static charge to catch prey. Wearing her silk would make things worse, not better.

Unless we had access to rubber trees and could coat things with latex, we were out of luck—

But those trees were native to the Amazon in Brazil.

In this world? Who knew.

“It won’t help. Spider silk conducts electricity really well.”

“Then what should we do? You said you need to learn something—so I assume you have an idea?”

“Yes. What we need to learn is how to restart a stopped heart. In other words... resuscitation.”

“Resuscitation!? You mean bringing the dead back to life!?”

Her eyes widened in disbelief. To her, it probably sounded like some legendary miracle technique, but really, it wasn’t that grand.

I was talking about CPR and mouth-to-mouth. There’s data saying over 95% of people electrocuted can survive if they receive proper CPR and artificial respiration.

So, if we were going to raise Ho-ye safely, we had to learn it.

Especially Hwa-eun.

I mean, I might get shocked and drop dead at any moment—If anyone had to bring me back, it would be her.

That’s why I’d come here in secret.

“Yes. If someone’s heart stops from drowning or electrical shock, you can revive them— As long as you do it within three and three-quarters minutes.”

The golden window for restarting the heart is four minutes. Within one minute, the survival rate is over 90%. Three and three-quarters minutes was plenty.

Hwa-eun asked cautiously.

“You... you’re going to teach me something like that?”

“Of course. You have to learn it.”

Obviously. Or I’ll die.

At my answer, she grabbed my hand tightly and said,

“Thank you, So-ryong. For trusting me so much.”

She was slightly misunderstanding the situation, but hey—with that kind of motivation, teaching her would be easier.

So, I decided to just jump in and start.

“Well then, they say seeing is better than hearing. Let’s do a live demonstration.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. It doesn’t take long.”

“O-Okay. So what should I do?”

“Lie down first. Pretend you’re the one who passed out. I’ll show you what the technique looks like. This is something you learn with your body.”

“Alright!”

At first, I was calm—thinking I was only doing this to save my own life.

But once Hwa-eun lay down on the bed—

That’s when I realized I might’ve made a mistake.

To demonstrate this, I had to put my lips on hers. I had to press down between her breasts.

My brain froze.

“What’s wrong?”

Hwa-eun tilted her head at my sudden paralysis.

I stammered.

“A-Ah... I may have miscalculated.”

Hwa-eun looked a little hurt.

“Oh... Right. I suppose something this important might be too much for someone like me who hasn’t even completed formal training yet...”

“No, no—it’s not that—”

“It’s okay, So-ryong. It’s a big deal, saving a life. I understand if you hesitate.”

She sat up, visibly disappointed, and closed her eyes tight.

“To save a life... you said I have to breathe into someone’s mouth... and press between their chest, right?”

“Y-Yes...”

She blinked, then her face turned bright red.

“I-I suppose then... as your fiancée, I’m the only one who can learn this.”

I’d only planned to run through a few motions, maybe explain the concept. But of course—it was Hwa-eun.

When it came to learning, she couldn’t be stopped. And as the Tang Clan’s motto went: Train like it’s real.

Which meant... we were going to have to practice the full thing.

Again and again.

Until she was completely familiar with... that sweet, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.